I stayed in my room alone, thinking about everything that had happened. My mind was racing with thoughts about the mysterious voice, the terrifying smoke figures, and what might happen next. Before I knew it, exhaustion took over, and I fell asleep, still sitting on the floor.
The next morning, a loud knock woke me up. I groggily stood up from the cold floor, trying to shake off my sleepiness. Just as I was getting my bearings, there was another knock, much louder this time. It startled me into action, and I rushed to the door, still half asleep.
When I opened it, I was greeted by a woman in her late thirties standing in front of me. Her expression was stern, and I could tell she wasn’t here for a friendly chat.
“Good morning,” I muttered, rubbing my eyes and still trying to wake up.
“Are you Kimberly?” she asked, her voice sharp as her gaze bore into me.
I nodded, feeling a little intimidated.
“I’m Morgana, the chief maidservant here. I’ll be overseeing you and the others. You’re not slaves here, we call you maids. You’ll follow me now to get your assigned tasks for the day. From now on, you need to be up by 6:30 a. m. every morning to receive your work assignments in the central area. Understood?” She spoke quickly, barely pausing for breath, and her tone left no room for argument.
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied, feeling nervous under her scrutiny. “What should I call you?”
“You can call me Chief Maidservant Morgana. Now, let’s go,” she said, turning on her heel and walking away without waiting for a response.
I followed her in silence, trying to keep up. After a short walk, we arrived at the central area where several other maids were already gathered, waiting for Morgana. Among them were Liza and Kaitlyn. Liza spotted me and waved discreetly, her usual friendly smile on her face. I returned the gesture quickly, not wanting Morgana to catch us.
“Good morning, everyone!” Morgana greeted the group, standing tall and radiating authority. We all mumbled our replies, the air tense as we waited for her to speak.
“As usual, we will be assigning different areas for each of you to clean today. But before that, I want to introduce someone new to the group. Kimberly, say hello to everyone,” she commanded, her eyes settling on me.
I hesitated for a moment, feeling a wave of shame wash over me as I was introduced as a maid. With a weak smile, I waved to the group. “Hi,” I said softly, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Now, remember,” Morgana continued, “we do not refer to anyone as a slave here. We all have our reasons for being in this position, and you are to treat each other with respect.” Her stern gaze swept over us all, and I could sense the weight of her authority.
She then began assigning tasks, pairing some of the maids together and sending them off to different areas. Luckily, I was paired with Liza. A small relief, as I knew working with her would make things a little easier. But as I glanced around, I noticed Kaitlyn was standing alone, her head lowered, looking even more timid than usual.
Morgana turned to Kaitlyn, her voice laced with impatience. “Kaitlyn, you need to start pulling your weight. Where should I even put you?” she muttered, clearly frustrated.
Without thinking, I stepped forward and called out, “Ma’am, she can join us. We’ll help her.”
Everyone turned to look at me in surprise, including Liza and Kaitlyn. Morgana raised an eyebrow, then smiled slightly, though it didn’t reach her eyes.
“Very well. Kaitlyn, go join them,” she said curtly before turning to leave. “I’ll be back in an hour to inspect your work. I expect everything to be spotless by then.”
With that, she strode away, leaving us to our tasks. Liza shot me a grateful smile as we got to work, while Kaitlyn trailed behind us quietly. We each had a section to clean, but I could see that Kaitlyn was struggling with her portion. She was moving slowly, her eyes downcast, as if she expected to fail.
After about twenty minutes of work, most of us were nearly done with our sections, except for Kaitlyn. Her area was still only half finished, and I could see she was getting frustrated.
“Let’s take a break for ten minutes,” one of the other maids suggested, wiping sweat from her brow.
The idea was tempting, and everyone seemed to agree. But just as I was about to sit down, I glanced over at Kaitlyn, who was still working. I knew there was no way she’d finish in time, even after our break.
Without saying a word, I walked over to Kaitlyn and started helping her with her cleaning. She looked up at me, her eyes wide with surprise.
“You don’t have to…” she started to say, but I just smiled and kept working.
Soon after, Liza joined us, her ever-present smile lighting up her face. “Let’s get this done together,” she said cheerfully as she picked up a rag and began scrubbing alongside us.
Together, we made quick work of the rest of Kaitlyn’s section. By the time we finished, there was still a little time left before Morgana was due to return.
As we sat down to rest, Kaitlyn surprised us all by speaking up, her voice soft but sincere. “Kimberly, Liza… thank you for helping me.”
It was the first time I had heard her speak in such a way, and there was even a timid smile on her face. Liza and I exchanged glances, both of us pleasantly surprised.
“You’re welcome, Kaitlyn,” I said gently. “We’re in this together, right?”
Kaitlyn nodded slightly, her shy smile lingering. It was a small step, but it felt like a breakthrough-a moment where, for the first time, Kaitlyn allowed herself to trust us.
Liza and I continued to exchanged glances, our faces lighting up with smiles, though mixed with a bit of surprise at Kaitlyn’s sudden words.